He made me so mad I cheated on my diet!!!

sorry to hear what you are going through. i personally would have lost my mind. but thats just me.. so ill stay away from shooting people/weddings. i really cant stand people like this guy. he should have been thankful he didnt have to pay you.

maybe give him proofs with your watermark on them. but say that further prints will be printed out by you ( the owner to the rights of these photos) and like someone else had posted on here to put a legal notice on it so if he does try and take the photos somewhere else to get them printed they wont.

i dont know. i hope i never find myself in your situation.

relax, stay calm, and i have to say that if their marriage should suffer because the photog told the FIL to kick rocks. then maybe they shouldnt have been together in the first place.

my hubby would always back me on something like that. and would tell his dad or mother off if something like that should go down.

what a silly old man.

take care, and listen to some of the advice on here.. a lot of it was great advice.

shannon

Did you shoot RAW? Does Jim know how to convert RAW files? Well, give him the cd with RAW files, change all photo to different white balance, give him some hard time to convert and re-adjust all the photos , and add your name and number into the photos (most of the labs would not release photo without the consent letter from the photographer)

But seriously, I would not give Jim anything, this is a gift to your friend, not Jim.

I shot my nephew's wedding in July, also as a gift to the couple. The prints were produced in 4 hardcover books, one for the couple and one for each set of parents, with specific wording at the back of the book indicating that my company holds the copyrights.

Having said that, I'm still waiting for inevitable, which will be people wanting CDs or file downloads. My wife and I agreed to deal with it on an individual basis, as there are some people who have helped us a lot, and we would like to "gift" them, and others who have no right to expect anything.

Personally I think a low-res watermarked CD is the way to go with this situation as it allows Jim to get what he wants (kind of) and allows you to keep your word (kind of).

Just my 2 cents.
Wes

strmrdr wrote in post #4058894
don't play games, just do what you said and provide a full res. cd.
This type of person is the type that will tell everyone they know about the photog who riped them off(even if you didnt).
They will never hear your side and your business suffers.

These type of people won't increase your business either. They will always want more and more and more.

I'd give him a low-res CD with a prints price list.

Hi,

I'm somewhat late to this party but I wanted to throw my two cents into this discussion.

You did the shoot for a friend. A friend that is close enough to do this for free, so I'll assume she's really close. And I'll assume you still want to continue that friendship. What I don't know is, what is your relationship with "Jim". If he's someone you just met and will most likely not be seeing again it gets somewhat easier. Although I think my suggestion works either way.

I'd have a heart to heart with your friend and explain to her that you do not want to have to deal with Jim. I'd stick to my word of giving them the CD, without any funny stuff. Give the CD to her and have her contact her father in law and let her deal with him. Let her know that while you don't expect any further communication from Jim if it's needed it should go through her.

The pro's are you've stuck to your word, and in my opinion is more valuable than a couple of bucks that you might have made. And you should no longer need to talk to this guy. And there's some education value to this. You've learned a little more about the business.

The con's are that you won't be making any money from the sale of prints to the family.

^There's a thought. Stick this all on your friend, she's family now so they have to like her. Give the CD to her and oops, she lost it. Oh well, you lived up to your word.

Most of all, be calm. You MUST put watermark on proofs on CD. Its your work, your property!! You can do any resolution you want it doesn;t matter. You are professional, and did the shoot as a gift for a friend. With the watermark, there is not a lab out there that will make prints without asking for your release. If he wants to buy the copyrights from you for prints thats fine he must pay like any other customer would, or if he wants you to do the print work, then he will pay like anyone else would. Just dont let him walk all over you. Its your work, and your property. Good luck..

So how did it all turn out? You haven't told us yet.

This is probably done and over with by now, but I would just give the low resolution if all that was said was "yes" to the CD but not High Resolution CD. Sorry you had to deal with this

probably late now - but if i were you and i was forced to give the cd, i would give a low res! hehe. that's what i did one time when i was asked for a cd and i couldn't be bothered to argue with them.